MCMS Staff Update - December 4 - 8, 2023

Good Afternoon MCMS,

Happy Weekend! I hope everyone is enjoying rest and starting to get into the holiday spirit!  We are just two and a half short weeks away from winter break and it will go fast!  Thank you for waiting out the rain on Friday for a great club day, students always enjoy taking part in different experiences during that time.  I appreciate the many adjustments and modifications you make throughout the week.  You are an amazing staff and I am thankful for you each day.

Please read over the emails from Jared about Ellevation training modules.  Please have those completed by the assigned deadlines.  Look for additional information from Jared for our upcoming iReady testing on Tuesday and Thursday.  Please let us know if you have any questions about the logistics or student access.

Make sure you are looking over the 2023-2024 MCMS Calendar for current activities and events on campus.  If we have any changes to the calendar, we will make sure to let everyone know.  

Below are updates and reminders for this coming week, December 4 - 8. Please let me know if you have any questions about this email, upcoming events, classroom supplies, or anything else.  We are here to support you!

Happy Birthday! We wish a very happy birthday to those who celebrate this week!

• No Birthdays this week

Weekly Reminders

Letters of Intent for 2024-2025 - Thank you for submitting your Letters of Intent, I appreciate your timeliness in returning those forms. Those forms are due to me no later than the morning of December 7th.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Discussion with Dobyns - Reflection and feedback is an important part of growth for our school.  During our final few days of the first semester, I will be providing time for all staff members to have a personal meeting with me.  My goal is for this time to give you an opportunity to talk about ideas, concepts, issues, or any topic you wish.  I will send out the sign up for this in the coming weeks.  I look forward to these meetings and hearing your ideas.

Semester 1 Peer Observation - Thank you to everyone who has completed your semester 1 peer observation.  We are still missing a several teachers observations, please complete those by the end of the day on Monday.  It has been great to read your feedback and takeaways. You are amazing teachers and are a wealth of knowledge that I am glad we can share with each other.  Here are a few highlights from the observations:

• Kudos!!!! Simmons has built great relationships with his students!
• I really enjoyed observing Mrs. Thompson's class. It was clear that procedures are well put in place and students know expectations and what they should be doing.
• Mrs. Dickert has done such a great job setting a good and safe learning environment for her students.
• It is obvious that Mr. Hanes has a great rapport with his students. He is patient and understanding towards his students as well.
• I enjoyed observing Mrs. Owen. She had good control over the class and students were very engaged in the reading.
• Mrs. Cannon gave specific directions when transitioning from one activity to another. She also gave very specific detailed expectations for how her partner work was to be completed
• I enjoyed the partner work and was impressed with Mrs. Shealy's classroom management.

SLO Mid-Conference Meetings - We will start our SLO Mid-Course Conference Meetings when we return from winter break on Friday, January 5th.  I will send additional information before winter break on the details of those meetings and what you need to have.

Wednesday Team Meetings this week only- After looking at the schedule for this upcoming week and talking with a few staff members, I do not want to take your shorter planning Tuesday for a meeting.  We will move our weekly team meetings to Wednesday this week only.  We will meet as a grade level during your first planning period.  RA will schedule a time for your schedule.  During our meeting this week, we will be talking about your feedback from the peer observations and planning for this upcoming semester as well as planning for 2024-2025.  I will be asking for any ideas for our upcoming 2024-2025 budget as well.  I look forward to your suggestions.

Faculty/Student Basketball Game - We will be having our Winter Pep Rally on December 13th.  At this Pep Rally, we will be having a Faculty/Student Basketball game.  Please reach out to Coach Meetze if you would like to play in the game.

A Very Merry- Mid-Carolina - We kick off our 12 dress days until winter break this week! I can't wait to see the fun outfits and festive holiday spirit.

MCMS Schedule- December 4th - 8th

• Monday (12/4) 
• MCMS PTO @ 5:30 PM in the Media Center
• Tuesday (12/5) 
• iReady ELA Winter Benchmark Testing
• Wednesday (12/6) 
• Team Meetings @ Planning
• Early Release
• Thursday (12/7) 
• iReady Math Winter Benchmark Testing
• Friday (12/8) 
• Make up School Pictures and SGA Meetings

Sneak Peek at 12/11 - 12/15:

• 7th Grade Field Study to Camp Thunderbird and SDNC Board Meeting (12/11), Team Meetings @ Planning (12/12), Winter Pep Rally (12/13), MCMS Band Concert at 6:00 PM (12/14), and  (12/15) 

Professional Learning - Second Quarter

• Below are the remaining Wednesday Professional Learning dates for the second quarter.  The dates highlighted in yellow will be full faculty.  I will send additional information and reminders.
• December 6th - Early Release- Teacher Work/Collaboration Time
• December 13th - Leadership Team
• December 20th - MCMS Holiday Social! 

Ellevation Training Reminder

• After completing your module, implement one of the strategies and then reflect on that strategy.
• The module completion and reflection should be on different days.  
• Below are the Ellevation Training modules you will need to complete this school year:
• Semester 1: Pathway- Understanding Multilingual Learners: 
• Intro to LTELs (Q1)
• Intro to Multilingual Learners (Q1)
• Intro to Newcomers (Q2)
• Intro to SIFE (Q2)
• Semester 2: Pathway- Developing Academic Language (4 modules in this pathway):
• Intro to Develop Academic Language (Q3)
• Develop Academic Language with Meaningful Messages (Q3)
• Develop Academic Language with Strong Sentences (Q4)
• Develop Academic Language with Weighted Words (Q4)
• If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Carpenter for more information.

7 Mindsets Schedule

• Thank you for continuing to teach the 7 mindsets curriculum and infusing it within your daily teaching.
• Mindset of the week- We are Connected
• 7 Mindsets Schedule 2023-2024

Please let me know if you have any questions about this week's updates or any other topic.  

Have a great day!

Dr. Dobyns